No Easy Way Out
by Karine1
Summary: Aragorn, with the help of Legolas, would do anything to protect the ones he is responsible for; a small village of rangers deprived of all the men for instance. But, in the end, he'll always need those who he cares deeply for.


_Okay, so, first note: Kar and I were EXTREMELY bored (and that's an understatement) the other night, and decided to do this one shot fic. BUT it turned out way longer than it was supposed to (damnit) and ended up being almost 4,000 words. (Could be more than that....) So, anyway, here's the fic, and we hope you enjoy._  
**Title:** No Easy Way Out  
  
**Authors:** TrinityTheSheDevil and Karine  
  
**Rating:** PG 13  
  
**Archive:** Just ask.  
  
**Spoilers:** Probably somewhere in here.......  
  
**Disclaimer:** Yes, we own them. They're all ours. ALL OURS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *looks at lawyers* *coughs* Aw alright, they're NOT ours, but we do have these handy dandy cardboard cut-outs of them that we put to good use! =D Oh, and the song isn't ours either. Belongs to some other dude, and it's from the Rocky soundtrack. We did however, have to change a few of the words around, so it didn't sound as slashy. (This isn't slash by a long shot though, completely gen!)  
  
**Summary:** Aragorn, with the help of Legolas, would do anything to protect the ones he is responsible for; a small village of rangers deprived of all the men for instance. But, in the end, he'll always need those who he cares deeply for.  
  
_We're not indestructible,  
Mellon better get that straight,  
I think its unbelievable,  
How you give into the hands of faith,  
Cause some things aren't worth fighting for,  
Some feelings never die,  
I'm not askin for another chance,  
I just wanna know why!_  
  
Aragorn sighed as he watched the rangers depart, heading for the Shire. He had given them patrolling duties, but he sorely hated to.  
  
"I'm asking too much of them. I've sent too many." The young human's eyes were clouded with doubt and worry, a shadow over his heart.  
  
"No, mellon nin. You sent as little as you could spare. The village will be okay until they return." Legolas placed a hand on his friend's shoulders.  
  
Aragorn nodded and turned his back to the Shire. "Come, let us check up on the wives and children before I take my patrol."  
  
Re-shouldering his bow, Legolas swiftly followed Aragorn, hoping that no harm came to the village that housed the wives and children of the Rangers. 'And Valar help anything that tried to bring torment to them', he added after seeing the determination in Aragorn's eyes.  
  
Legolas was riding a little ways behind Aragorn, and as he was thinking about the ranger, he could not help but grin at the irony of the situation. For although Aragorn proclaimed that he never wanted power when he learned of his heritage, he still accepted to lead the Dunedain. And although he was in denial of his heritage, he was still thinking that protecting the Shire was his responsibility, like the Dunedain before him.  
  
Legolas was jerked out of his thoughts as his horse began to panic. He just had time to dismount before his horse could throw him, unlike Aragorn, who had landed a few feet away from his horse. As Aragorn got up and tried to calm both horses, Legolas could not help but wonder what could have frightened the horses so for he felt nor heard nothing. Then, as Aragorn had just managed to calm the horses, it came. The earth seemed to shake under their feet, but this was not an earthquake, both knew it, it was something else.  
  
Their suspicions were confirmed when they saw orcs from afar, a lot of orcs, at least five hundred orcs. And they were going straight for the village of the rangers.  
  
"VALAR! They'll all be destroyed!" Aragorn jumped back upon his horse. "Come Legolas! We have no time!"  
  
Legolas gracefully leapt upon the bare back of the horse and whispered into it's ear. Both steeds flew towards the village with their owners praying they had enough time to evacuate the inhabitants.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
"MAMA! Rangers!" Five year old Naethon ran from the small wooden gate to his mother, who was hanging up clothes to dry on a line.  
  
"Rangers, mama! They're riding this way very fast! Two of them!"  
  
The mother quickly set down the basket she was carrying and rushed to the gate. Not too far away were two powerful steeds, their long strides bringing them quickly to the village.  
  
"Quickly Naethon, go get Nana Gwen." She said, and her son rushed off to get the leader of the women. Gwen was the one who took control when the men were gone, and each woman trusted her with their lives.  
  
As the horses got closer, she noticed that only one was a ranger. The other was a fair haired elf.  
  
Naethon arrived at the gate just a few seconds before Gwen, his small chest heaving. "Nana Gwen....is here." He said, and stopped short as the horses arrived.  
  
Aragorn swung from his saddle and greeted Gwen. "Gwen, there are Orcs headed this way. You must get everyone together to leave, NOW!"  
  
Naethon paid no attention to Aragorn, his small eyes were glued to the blonde archer.  
  
"Wow." He said breathlessly.  
  
Legolas smiled slightly, and bent down on one knee, extending his hand.  
  
"I am Legolas, archer of Mirkwood. And who might a fine warrior like yourself be?"  
  
Naethon puffed out his chest and tilted his chin. "I'm Naethon. My dada is a Ranger! Are those ears real?"  
  
Trying not to laugh at the enthusiasm, Legolas tilted his head slightly. Naethon reached out a finger and gave the ear a tug, before shrieking with excitement.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no easy way out,  
Givin' in can't be wrong._  
  
"That won't happen Aragorn, they will fight."  
  
Aragorn sighed, he had been arguing with Gwen for a few minutes. He wanted all the women to hide with the children, she wasn't going to see it that way. Although Aragorn knew perfectly well that each and every one of them were trained in battle, he didn't want them to die; he prefered by far dying in battle than walk out of a battle victorious and see the women of this village lying dead on the battlefield.  
  
"Listen Aragorn, I know that your friend and you are mighty warriors, but you two and the few men that are left cannot win this fight. The odds are too big." Gwen said.  
  
"Screw the odds. I can if I have too."  
  
While both leaders were having a heated argument, Legolas, with the remaining rangers, were seeing to the defenses of the village. An hour had passed since they had arrived and the orcs were about an hour from the village, they had no time to loose.  
  
After loosing the war of words against Gwen, Aragorn stomped away from the house and went to Legolas' side and leaned on the small wall surrounding the village.  
  
"Stop sulking Strider, you always loose against her." Legolas said grinning.  
  
"I am *NOT* sulking." Aragorn hissed at his supposed friend. "Now stop grinning and come help me with these barricades" Aragorn added.  
  
"No, you go to them." Legolas said pointing to the group of women that would fight. "They need you, mellon nin. I'll take care of that."  
  
Aragon nodded his thanks and walked up to where all of those who would fight were standing.  
  
Aragorn stood before the group, cursing inwardly. Thirty women and around ten men. If they could be called that; the "men" were very young. Most around fifteen or sixteen. The oldest was perhaps twenty.  
  
"I'm going to position you all inside of the wall. The children and those that cannot fight will be in the cellar, underneath the barn. It is important that you protect them at all costs. Show these Orcs no mercy; they will show you none. They are here to kill you, your children, your parents, and your loved ones. Strike hard, waste no blows. I suggest you team up in pairs, to protect each other's backs. Now, everyone help finish this barricade. When the Orcs come into view........we get on the battle lines."  
  
The others nodded and went off to finish building the barricade around the wall. The barricade wouldn't stop the Orcs completely, but it would slow them down greatly. Aragorn had just sent off a young boy to warn the rangers of the attack, and request that they return immediately.  
  
If the group were to leave the city, the results would be disastrous. With the children and older ones, they would not be able to escape in time. Caught in the open like that would be the demise of them all. No, the city was their best bet.  
  
The young human could only imagine what his father would say right now.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_I don't wanna pacify,  
I don't wanna drag you down,  
But I'm feelin like a prisoner,  
Like a stranger in a no name town.  
I see only angry faces,  
Afraid that could be you and me,  
Talkin about what might have been,  
Thinkin' about what used to be._  
  
_***A week before***_  
  
Elrond was sitting in his study, with his twin sons sitting on each side of him, while in front of him sat one of his best trackers. Since his youngest son had taken the position of leader of the Dunedain, as it's his birthright, Elladan and Elrohir listen diligently at every report from the trackers. Elrond was not sure of the reason of this change, it probably had something to do with them wanting news of their brother, for the trackers often brought some.  
  
But this particular report was worrisome, for Hylirion brought news of five hundred orcs marching and heading for an unknown place near the Shire. That definitely brought the attention of the twins and they both exclaimed.  
  
"Adar, there is a village of Rangers there, and that is where Aragorn is at the moment."  
  
Elrond was taken aback by what followed suit, Elladan immediately spun into action, first by dismissing the tracker and then calling the captain of the guards, during that time Elrohir had left to get their things ready.  
  
Elrond couldn't help but feel proud of his sons, no matter how mischievous and prankster at hearts these two were, as soon as someone's safety, especially their brothers, was at stake, they became like two versions of a younger him.  
  
An hour later, Elladan and Elrohir, leading a party of fifty elves, were leaving Rivendell, heading for the Shire, and their trouble magnet brother and friend.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no easy way out,  
Givin' in can't be wrong._  
  
Aragorn paced before the wall, agitation visible in his every step. The Orcs were almost upon them. Half an hour maybe, until they pounded upon the flimsy barrier that was hastily erected in a very short amount of time. He looked up and down the row of women and children, all holding swords, ready for the battle they knew was inevitable.  
  
Legolas stood a few feet away, his bow at the ready. The elf nodded, telling Aragorn in a silent look that they would somehow survive this, and keep everyone alive in the process.  
  
Finally, the skies darkened considerably, and it was time. The Orcs were there.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_Mellon, mellon, we can shed this skin,  
We can know how we feel inside.  
Instead of goin' down an endless road,  
Not knowin' if we're dead or alive.  
And some things aren't worth fighting for,  
Some feelings never die,  
I'm not askin' for another chance,  
I just wanna know why!_  
  
The first few Orcs easily fell as Legolas shot arrow after arrow into the sky. Their howls of death reverberated throughout the village, as the rest of the Orcs attacked mercilessly. Aragorn fought to keep them at bay, and only a few escaped the wrath of his sword. Legolas gave up his bow when the Orcs got too close, switching instead to his twin knives.  
  
Orcs were surrounding them now, pounding at the barrier. Five surrounded Aragorn as the ranger tried to fight them off at once. Ducking a swipe from one of the enemy blades, Aragorn rolled to the left to escape another. Grabbing one of the knives in his boot, he threw it at the biggest Orc, killing it instantly. The others paused as if to watch their team mate die, and Aragorn used that time wisely, killing off two more before they knew what hit them. The other two attacked at once, trying to bring the man down. Aragorn rolled to the side again and jumped up behind them, plunging his sword into the back of one while breaking the other's neck.  
  
He looked over to see how Legolas was faring during the fight.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
Legolas was considered as one of the best archers in Middle-Earth, but even he would not risk still using the bow when the orcs were only a few feet away. So he unsheathed his twin knives, twirled them both in his hands, then waited for the orcs to come to him. "This is going to be fun," He thought sarcastically.  
  
Legolas was working fast, using his elven speed at its maximum to make short work of the orcs, and prevented them from surrounding him. But more and more keep coming and despite his best efforts, Legolas was soon surrounded by at least a dozen orcs; this is when things got interesting.  
  
When in this situation, Legolas always used trick that the twins showed him when he was younger. A trick that would be considered cheating in a duel but orcs never followed rules when destroying lives, so he wouldn't either. So, first thing Legolas did was kick on the ground, hard, sending dust everywhere. He then put the few seconds he gain to good use by killing three orcs with a dance-like move. But he was still surrounded and now the orcs were angrier, so Legolas decided that he needed to get out of the circle, and fast.  
  
He used the same move he often used when he sparred and it always worked. He begun by feigning to his left and in a daring move, he threw himself to his right and killed the two orcs blocking his way. But he forgot that he was not sparring friends, but orcs, intending on taking his head off of his shoulders. For when he did he move, he left his left side open for about a second, and an orc took this opportunity and brought his sword on the elf grazing his left side. But this little scratch did not stop him and he got up and began to fight again with renewed determination.  
  
An ear piercing cry made was soon heard and Legolas immediately went in search of the person who yelled and soon spotted Naethon, backed up in a corner, with five orcs advancing on him. Without wasting his time, Legolas ran to where the little boy was, fully intending on slaughtering all of those who would dare hurt the child.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no easy way out,  
Givin' in, givin' in can't be wrong no.  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no easy, no easy, no easy way out._  
  
Aragorn heard the scream and turned, fully intending to make his way over to Naethon. His path was blocked however by the biggest Orc he had seen yet. The creature was deformed twice as much as the normal Orc, and was at least three foot taller than the young human. It was obviously the leader, as the other Orcs stayed out of his way, deciding to let him deal with Aragorn.  
  
"Time to die, filthy human." The Orc leader advanced.  
  
"Filthy human? Is THAT your best insult?" Aragorn rolled his eyes. Ducking and swinging upwards to try to take the head from the Orc's body, he had to jump aside when a dagger was thrown his way.  
  
Instinct told him to roll to the right, and he was soon glad that he did, as he felt the displacement of air from the sword swinging down at where his head had once been. Bringing his own sword up and blocking the others swings, Aragorn felt his arms grow weak. The Orc was relying on his brute strength, just waiting for Aragorn to tire down before killing him. And it was working.  
  
Aragorn suddenly found himself flat on his back, having stumbled over the body of another Orc. The leader wasted no time in bringing his weapon forward, running it through Aragorn's side and pinning him to the ground. Aragorn cried out in pain as the metal bit through his skin, tearing through muscle and organs, before ripping out his back. The agony threatened to send him into a dark oblivion, but he fought it off. He would surely die if he passed out now.  
  
The sword was violently removed, and Aragorn weakly tried to swing his own up, only to have it caught and thrown aside. The leader bared his teeth in a feral grin, bringing his weapon up, ready to bring it down and end the human's life.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
After reaching the boy's spot, Legolas made short work of the orcs threatening the child. He didn't need to call out for him, for the boy immediately threw himself in the elf waiting arms. But, a few seconds after, Naethon was the one fighting the grip the elf had on him, for he spotted something on the ground; well, not something, rather someone. A few feet away from them, Gwen was lying on the ground, dead.  
  
The following scene was heart breaking. Naethon, after reaching the body of Gwen, knelt down before it and tried to wake her, thinking she was only asleep. Legolas moved towards the boy, but soon stopped dead in his tracks. More orcs had entered the village by now and a few had made it very close to the boy in a very small amount of time. Legolas, having put his twin knives away while he had the boy, had no time to take them and reached the orcs before they take him out, and the boy was oblivious to the world, for he was still trying to rouse Gwen.  
  
Legolas didn't have to think twice about what to do; he lunged at the boy, pushing him out of the way and taking his place so he would take the blow and not the boy. Legolas couldn't help but cried out in agony as the sword connected with his side, cutting him deeply. Blood was pouring from the wound and Legolas could only brace himself for the next blow, the one who would take his life.  
  
But it never came, instead the orc fell dead, an elven arrow embed in the back of his head. Legolas' mind raced, he knew that besides him, no one had elven arrows, not even Aragorn, and besides, this arrow could only belong to one of the twins.  
  
"Elrohir" He called out when he saw the son of Elrond running toward him.  
  
"It would never cease to amaze me that my brother and you always seem to end up in the worst situation possible with terrible odds and all; what is up with you two?" Elrohir said grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"I don't know mellon nin, it must be because I love lying on the ground bleeding to dead surrounded by an army of orcs." Legolas quickly replied with a slight grin.  
  
Soon, a healer who had come with the party from Rivendell was at Legolas' side and Elrohir was in front of them, shooting down the orcs who dared approach his fallen friend.  
  
After telling Legolas that he had came with a party of fifty warrior and a few healers, he had to back off as a little boy made his way to Legolas and hugged him tightly.  
  
"Elrohir, where is Aragorn?" Legolas finally asked the question that was burning on his lips.  
  
"Elladan went after him." Elrohir replied, he himself feeling a little worried.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
_There's no easy way out,  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no shortcut home,  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no easy, no easy, no easy way out,  
There's no easy way out,  
There's no shortcut home, there's no easy way out....._  
  
Aragorn watched as the sword was raised, ready to be plunged downwards and end his life. A blur appeared at the edge of his vision, and bodily crashed into the Orc, before rolling to it's feet.  
  
The elf twirled his daggers in his hands before jumping back onto the Orc, plunging the blades into it's neck. Standing up and wiping the blood from the weapons, he sheathed them and turned to Aragorn.  
  
"Well little brother, it seems you've gotten yourself into a mess AGAIN." Elladan smirked, then frowned, noticing the pained _expression on Aragorn's face and the blood now covering the ground. Human blood.  
  
Leaning down, Elladan slowly pulled back Aragorn's tunic, uncovering the nasty gash.  
  
"Oh no."  
  
Quickly ripping a piece of cloth from his cloak, Elladan pressed it over the wound. Aragorn gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as the pain intensified.  
  
"Shhh, it's okay Estel. I'm going to move you over to the healer and out of the battle." Elladan lifted Aragorn, and looked outwards when a horn sounded. The rangers had arrived.  
  
Quickly making his way over to Legolas and his twin, Elladan settled Aragorn onto the ground and watched as the healer looked over the wound.  
  
Uncapping one of the potions that Elrond had sent along, the elf poured it into the wound, and watched as it sizzled and hissed slightly. As the potion finished cleaning the wound, he turned Aragorn over and gave the human something to bite on.  
  
"I'm going to have to stitch this up before you lose anymore blood. This is going to hurt....a lot."  
  
Aragorn nodded, clamping his teeth down on a piece of leather.  
  
Halfway through closing the wound, Aragorn's mind had finally decided it couldn't take the pain, and the human fainted. The healer decided it was for the best, now that Aragorn couldn't feel the pain.  
  
Turning him back over and stitching the other side, he bandaged it and set Aragorn down next to Legolas. The battle was winding down now that the rangers had arrived, and the warriors were rounding up the rest of the Orcs. The ground was littered with bodies, Orcs and humans alike. A few women and children were among the fallen, and the eyes of the healer filled with sorrow at the pointless loss of life.  
  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***  
  
The rangers and elves spent the following week reconstructing what had been destroyed, while Legolas and Aragorn, who had been the worst injured by far, used this time to heal. Aragorn also used a lot of that time to brood; he could not help but feel guilty about what had happened and felt he had let his people down. It took a lot of coaxing, yelling and arguing between Aragorn, Legolas and the twins to make him see reason.  
  
After a few more days, the elves left, and Aragorn sent his rangers back to the Shire. He had not wanted to do it, but the rangers of the village had convinced him to send them anyway. Aragorn could not help but feel proud for them, for they had the same sense of duty he had. It was in moments like this that Aragorn was glad he had taken the position of Chieftain. In moments like that that he did not regret his choice. But, although he loved the life the wilds brought him, his house would always be in Rivendell with his father and brothers.  
  
END! =D  
  
_***Kar and Trin, still on the Black Pearl floating in the sky*  
  
Kar: We are now praise-worthy, we managed to write an evil fic, with near death experience and NO CLIFFIE!!!!   
  
*As Trin is about to speak, they both see rabid readers stalking Kar with murderous intend in their eyes for the sequel to Dilemma and another gang who want the next part of Duty*  
  
Kar and Trin: errrrr..   
  
*Float away at top speed***_   
  



End file.
